Go Locavore at the 2018 Wild America Nature Festival!
Fresh strawberries. BBQ chicken. Mushrooms. Sweet corn. Cherries. Burgers. Black raspberries. We could keep on listing the amazing locally farmed and wild edible foods that make our summer delicious, but it would take up more space than we have for this article. Roger Tory Peterson’s Wild America Nature Festival at Panama Rocks on July 28 & 29 will celebrate amazing, locally produced and sourced food and highlight the importance of the environment to our food chain. One of the highlights of this year’s festival will be a series of programs delivered by Lee Peterson, the younger of Roger...
Read MoreYellow-rumped Warblers Feeding
I always feel that as we enter November we shift from one phase of avian life to the next. Songbird migrants are now decreasing rapidly in both abundance and diversity. More waterfowl are beginning to arrive on our shores. Our wintering species start to show up frequently at our feeders. Birds also shift from eating insects to dining on this season’s harvest, as is the case with the Yellow-rumped Warblers (Setophaga coronata) here. Junipers, cedars, holly trees and many more all provide delicious berries that were the treats for these Halloween birds. I did not even notice I had...
Read MoreThe Buzz
The pollinators are certainly enjoying the blooming flower gardens at RTPI! Pay us a visit soon to see what the buzz is all about! You can enjoy a walk on our nature trails, admire the Birds in Art exhibition, and naturally experience original work by Roger Tory Peterson while you’re here!
Read MoreThe Great Spangled Fritillary!
The Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) and other native butterflies provide added splashes of color on summer days as they flit about our flower gardens, parks and roadsides. Butterflies don’t need much to thrive in our immediate vicinity. As long as you take extra care to plant native flowering plants that provide healthy foods for these animals (rather than non-native ornamental plants that don’t offer such benefits to our insects) and don’t spray pesticides, butterflies will be there to brighten your day (and pollinate your other flowers and veggies)!
Read MoreFox Sparrow
Any time we see snowfall from mid-March on, we might notice an increase in the number and species diversity of birds at our backyard feeders. Those who pay close attention might also have the opportunity to view more elusive birds – those that would otherwise just be passing through or returning to the area relatively unnoticed – that are driven out of their preferred habitats by the extreme conditions in search of food. One such bird that can seem to appear out of nowhere is the Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca). These large sparrows really enjoy scratching at the ground with both...
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